Growth of Blackstone portfolio company continues

Incenter, which recently expanded by launching a mortgage-focused broker-dealer called Incenter Securities Group, is expanding again – into title and settlement services.

Incenter, a Blackstone portfolio company, announced Monday that it acquired Boston National, a provider of title and settlement services headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Under the terms of the deal, Boston National CEO John Keratsis will join Incenter; focusing on the “strategic integration of the title and settlement process with Incenter’s other service offerings to continuously optimize mortgage lending for productivity and profitability,” the companies said in a release.

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The companies also said that the acquisition is not expected to impact daily operations or staffing at Boston National’s 18 locations.

“Boston National has built its reputation on bucking the assembly-line approach common in the title industry in favor of wrapping service delivery around the client,” Keratsis said.

“We found a like-minded team and culture in Incenter and are very excited about this opportunity to join efforts,” Keratsis continued. “We are grateful for our clients' trust and loyalty and we're confident that this relationship will only increase our opportunity to provide our industry-leading customer service to an even broader audience.”

In addition to its expansion into title services, Incenter also offers capital markets and fulfillment services for mortgage lenders and specialty finance companies.

Nick Smith, the president of Incenter, said that the Boston National acquisition made sense for the company as it looks to continue its growth.

“Under the leadership of John Keratsis, Boston National has proven its best-in-class service value proposition to its clients, significantly expanded its geographic footprint and become an industry innovator in title and settlement services,” Smith said.

“As we look to expand our end-to-end solution for our clients, we constantly seek opportunities to bolster our capabilities through the addition of top-tier talent and, when it makes sense, through acquisitions like this one, Smith continued. “We are confident that our clients will immediately benefit from this relationship and we look forward to putting the full breadth of Boston National’s offering to work on their behalf.”

Ben Lane is the Editor for HousingWire. In this role, he helps set a leading pace for news coverage spanning the issues driving the U.S. housing economy and helps guide HousingWire's overall direction. Previously, he worked for TownSquareBuzz, a hyper-local news service. He is a graduate of University of North Texas.